Captain America: The First Avenger

See that awesome poster? That pretty much describes this movie. It is deliberately shot in the style of a 1940's film, focusing heavily on the characters depicted up top with only minor interaction with "the background guys." That's not necessarily a bad thing, since if the Howling Commandos got more screen time (which was more than likely intended, evidenced by obvious deleted scenes), the story would start to slow down around the time Steve Rogers decides to do the right thing and make Captain America more than just propaganda.

Captain America is the story of Steve Rogers, the wimpiest kid you'll ever meet, but who possesses an indomitable will that keeps him going despite his size. He keeps applying to the U.S. military multiple times, being rejected every time for his own safety. His reasons for enlisting are shallow at first; his entire family enlisted and died in the war. Later on, we see that Rogers "doesn't like bullies" and sees Nazi Germany as just another bully. He doesn't want to kill any Nazis, he just wants to right the wrongs that Adolf Hitler has done.


Yes, Captain America's back-story has received zero change since being its last retcon. Bucky is still the bigger protector of Steve until the Super Soldier serum, then becomes a member of the Howling Commandos, then dies for the millionth time. The inventor of the serum is still killed by a Nazi almost immediately after Steve Rogers becomes nigh-superhuman, but this time he is an agent of Hydra. Although Rogers would now make an excellent soldier, he is just one man and deemed too valuable to lose on the frontlines. He is dressed up in a silly costume and made into the propaganda superhero, Captain America, even printing his own series of comic books (a reprint of Captain America Comics #1).

During a trip to Italy for the USO, Rogers receives jeers from the actual troops, but decides to single-handedly break out hundreds of troops held prisoner in a Nazi camp (actually a Hydra camp). Afterwards, seeing his worth not only as a strong physical soldier, but a very capable mental one, Rogers' former CO decides to create a unit for Captain America and bring down Hydra and the Red Skull, who is using the power of the Cosmic Cube, left being on Earth by the Asgardians.

Captain America is easily Marvel's 2nd best film, just behind X-Men: First Class. It pokes fun at American propaganda during the 1940s, but also makes sure to stay true to the course and tell a serious story of a weak man who did not change once given power. Make sure to stay after the credits too, because there isn't just a post-credits scene, there's a trailer for next year's The Avengers.

Final Score: 4 punches to Hitler's face out of 5